


trust love

by random_fandom_memorandum



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bad Puns, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, First Kiss, Kissing, Skiing AU, Slow Burn, blake is a writer, clover's a ski coach now, skiing drama, there's a discussion about the rules of jinx-ing somebody, yang is a jock™
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/random_fandom_memorandum/pseuds/random_fandom_memorandum
Summary: Blake had always wanted a storybook romance, even if she'd never admit it to Sun. She just didn't think she'd find it at a ski resort, of all places.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 14
Kudos: 106





	1. Brand New Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting here. Enjoy!

"Ready?" Sun asked, having finally finished clipping his boots into his skis.

Blake glanced down the slope. Trees dotted the landscape and there was no clear path down. Moguls as high as her knees sprouted from the ground. Icy patches glittered faintly in the dappled sunlight. Her eyes narrowed. _A challenge. But she liked challenges._ "Always," she replied, tightening the wrist straps on her poles.

"Ladies first," he said, extending a hand down the mountain.

Blake shrugged in response. "Whatever you say." She was not nervous. Belladonnas didn't get nervous. Her gloves were probably over-insulated anyway. Or something. She turned, the edges of her skis cutting into the soft snow. And with that, she was in motion. No going back. No brakes. She would do this.

She picked up speed, the wind biting into her face and lips. It felt like flying, almost. Air rushed past her ears, but the rest of the world was eerily silent. Snow puffed up in small soundless clouds as she curved around the bumps left by other skiers. In the distance, a bird called. She could hear her heartbeat and her breathing. Sure, she'd been at Beacon University for three months now, but she still hadn't acclimated to the altitude.

Inhaling stinging cold air, she curved neatly around a tree. And another one. And another. And another. And this sure was a lot of trees, wasn't it. A twinge of panic sparked in her chest. _What if she was lost? Or if she got hurt? Or skied out of the resort?_ She bit her lip. This could be bad. With a single flick of her ankles, she ground to a halt to check her map.

Or at least she would have, had Sun not crashed into her going what had to be ninety miles an hour.

They tumbled into a tree, a jumble of poles and skis and assorted bits of gear. Then, to top off the humiliation, snow slid off a pine bough and onto her head.

"Blake?" Sun asked, unassertive, sitting up behind her, and snow falling off his helmet. He pushed up his red mirrored goggles and stared her dead in the eye. "Blake." He sounded less confused this time. "Blake! Why'd you stop out of nowhere? That's the first thing they tell you _not_ to do!"

"Uh."

"Uh?"

"I thought we were lost?"

"So you decided to check the map while skiing?"

"It does sound bad when you put it that way," Blake admitted, looking at the ground. "I'm guessing you know where we are then?"

He sighed, breath clouding in the dry air. "Look," he said, holding up her arm and pointing. She turned to follow. "See?"

They were right next to a sign for their current run, Shadow, a blue.

"Maybe you should take the lead this time." She checked the bindings on her boots, then pushed herself up with her poles before extending a hand to Sun. "I don't want to get lost. Or something."

"I know this place about as well as you do," he replied. "Plus you _live_ here. Or at Beacon, which is just half an hour away so it might as well be the same thing."

"For someone who lives in the desert, you know a lot about skiing," she noted. "And enjoy it. Your friend, however, doesn't."

"Oh, Neptune? Yeah. He's not big on water. Or snow. Or cold. Or heights. Skiing isn't really his vibe."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"He took the gondola to the lodge. Supposedly to study for finals."

"I suspect he's studying the girls more. Because finals ended a week ago."

"Probably. I'm ready when you are," Sun said, adjusting his goggles.

Blake nodded and watched as he smoothly slid out of the spot where they'd fallen, skis whispering on the snow. Last night they'd had six inches of powder fall. Sun was ecstatic. She just thought it was more stuff to shovel away from the dorms when she got back. Once he gained enough of a lead, she pushed off with her poles to pick up speed.

She ran through a mental checklist of all the things Sun had told her to do. Bend her knees. Lean forward in her boots. Focus on rotating her legs. Always face downhill. He made it look easy. Where had he even learned to ski? They'd both grown up in Menagerie, a tropical island down south with no snow to speak of. It was probably just another Sun Thing™, one of his seemingly infinite quirks.

 _She'd_ spent her first few _weeks_ tumbling head over heels on the bunny slopes. Pyrrha had commented on how odd it was, that Blake was normally so coordinated. Sun, in the week he'd been here, had gone from a beginner to skiing confidently on blues. It was slightly irritating, but she shrugged it off. Her best friend was here with her in Vale for the holiday break! She was pretty sure she'd done well on her exams too. It was time to relax, not be jealous.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she set off down the hill after Sun. His grace was impressive, even if she was a little jealous. She tried to mimic him as best she could, turning her skis where he did, planting her poles where he did, and heart leaping in her throat as she shot over a small jump after him. He landed backwards. _Showoff._

"Hey!" Blake shouted. "Since when was this a competition?"

"It's not," Sun said, spinning back around and spraying her with snow. "You're just jealous."

Her nostrils flared, but she didn't respond. _Just let him have his fun_. _You have all year to be here anyway._ Unlike her, Sun had gone to Shade University in Vacuo, which was a little bit too warm for snow. A lot too warm. Neither of them had seen it before coming up to Vale.

He sped up, and she followed, trying to resume her mirroring of his movements. Slowly, she slipped back into her groove. Her mind emptied of thoughts as she sailed down the hill, wind whipping her black scarf out behind her. 

At the bottom of the hill, Sun glided to a smooth stop, Blake skidding to a halt below him. "Want to go back up or head down to the lodge?" he asked.

"I could do with some lunch," she said. "Do you think we need to let Neptune know we're coming so we can find him?"

"He's not exactly hard to find in a crowd." Sun gestured to his head with gloved hands. "You know, blue hair and all. Probably surrounded by the ladies too. Always the center of attention." She nodded in response. "Onward and forward then, to destiny! And also lunch, hopefully."

The snow at the lodge was close to slush with the amount of traffic it got. The sun was at its zenith, a pale white-gold in a sapphire sky. White clouds drifted lazily near the horizon, remnants of the previous days storm. Blake watched people pass as she clicked the releases on her boots to pop them out of their bindings. Setting them up on the rack, she heard someone call her name. 

"BLAKE!" 

It seemed that Sun had found Neptune. She sighed, then let a grin pass onto her face as she unclipped her helmet and pulled off her goggles. "Neptune," she said. "Good to see you. How's your morning been?"

"Cold," he answered. "No idea how you can stand it. Can we go inside now?"

Sun reappeared behind Blake. "Actually," he interjected, "there's supposed to be some kind of race or something in a few minutes. Wanna watch?"

"Sounds fun," she said. 

Neptune groaned. "But it's cold!"

"Then go inside," Sun replied. 

"But-" he trailed off, defeated. "Fine. We can watch."

"Nobody's going to try and stop you from going inside, Neptune," Blake added. "Let's go find a table. These boots aren't made for standing." She'd been assured that ski boots weren't meant to support you while walking, but it had still surprised her how hard it was to walk in them. She clomped along behind Sun towards the stairs to the top deck of the lodge. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate walking in these?" she wondered aloud. 

"Yep," Sun answered, popping the 'p'. "You guys want a corner table or what?"

"One along the edge," said Neptune. "In the sun, so I don't freeze. Pun intended." 

Sun's eye twitched. "That was horrible. How about that table?" He gestured to a table in the far left corner of the deck that sat facing the slope. "It's in the sun," he added as an afterthought.

Blake shrugged, then settled in a wrought iron chair, setting her helmet on the ground beside her. _Finally, she could get off her feet._ Sun sat down next to her and hung his helmet off the back of his chair. _Smart,_ she thought. That'd keep his goggles from getting scratched. Another thing she didn't know. _Fabulous._

Neptune chose a spot across from them and folded his hands. "So what's the race, Sun?" 

The blond shrugged. "All I heard was that there was going to be a race at noon," he said, making a show of dramatically rolling up his sleeve to check his watch. "And it is currently 11:58 am." He gestured at the flags at the base of the slope. "I'm assuming that's the finish line? Probably. Anyway I think it-"

He was cut off as a loudspeaker crackled to life. "Hellooooooo racing fans! My name is Penny Polendina, and welcome to the start of the Vale Winter Festival!"


	2. Ignite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know a lot about skiing. I'm doing my best with wikipedia and various other websites. If you find something wrong, please let me know so I can fix it!

"Hellooooooo racing fans! My name is Penny Polendina, and welcome to the start of the Vale Winter Festival!" 

Blake leaned back in her chair and resisted the urge to kick her feet up on the table. Her ski boots would probably crack it or scratch the finish. Looking out onto the slope, she could just barely see a line of figures in colored jackets near the top of the hill where the main chairlift emptied. The slope itself was cleared of trees, save for one big island of them splitting the run down the middle. There were moguls on both sides of it. She guessed they'd come up to her mid thigh, at least. Maybe her hips. Big either way. 

"Today's event is mogul skiing! It's the qualifiers for the championships later this week. Every skier who gets at or below a certain time will move on to the final rounds. We have thirty competitors in the running for skiing and another fifteen for snowboarding." Penny rattled off a list of qualifying times by gender and discipline. Blake had no idea what any of it meant, but tried her best to pay attention. 

Sun poked her in the side. Blake's head snapped up. A waitress had come by and was asking her for her drink order. "Can I get a black tea? No cream no sugar, please." She nodded, then trotted off to the next table. 

"Do you know anyone competing?" Sun asked. "Apparently some of them are from Beacon." He pulled a flyer out of his pocket. "Here."

Blake took it from his outstretched hand and scanned the names. "Wait. Weiss Schnee? The HEIRESS of Schnee Electronics? Her?" 

Sun nodded. "Apparently. I guess she lives here. Doesn't she go to your school?" 

"Yeah, but I never thought of her as the sporty type. Interesting." She ran down the list again. "There's some from Shade, too."

"I think I know Dew, Darcy, and Octavia?" Neptune said hesitantly. "Or at least I've heard of them. I don't know that I've ever had an actual conversation with them. Oh, and Scarlet David."

"Neptune, you literally share a dorm with him. How do you not know this?" 

Neptune shrugged. "I dunno."

"You sat next to him on the plane," Sun added for emphasis. "You stole his shortbread cookies."

"Ohhhh. Right."

She set the list back down on the table as the waitress came back with a tray of their drinks. Neptune had ordered something that looked like liquid diabetes and was covered in whipped cream and sprinkles while Sun had gone for a latte. Stripping off her gloves, she clutched the steaming red mug inscribed with the axes of Vale with both hands, relishing the warmth. 

Then she tuned back into what Penny was saying. "First up for women's skiing: Ruby Rose, a freshman at Beacon Academy! Not only did she graduate Signal High with honors, she also graduated having broken several speed records. Let's see if she can do it again!"

At the top of the hill, a figure in red approached the starting line. Over the finishing flags, there was a lighted stopwatch set to 00:00:00. "The qualifying time is fifty five seconds!" Penny announced. "Three. Two. One. GO!" 

The girl launched forward over the edge of the slope and was off like a shot. The timer flashed and started counting. Blake sipped her tea and watched as Ruby sped down the slope almost faster than she could follow. She turned impossibly fast, only rotating her legs. _Insane,_ she thought. Ruby's skis were parallel even as she crossed moguls that would have had Blake sprawled out face down in the snow, skis downhill from her and gear scattered. A cloud of snow formed behind her. Blake envied her, then remembered that Ruby was basically a professional. Or at least better trained. 

And just like that, she crossed the finish line and screeched to a halt, a wave of snow flying through the air as her skis dug into the packed snow. Blake winced as a newscaster with bright red hair got hit in the face with it. "Forty-two point one-five," Penny said. "Impressive for a qualifier." _Is Penny the newscaster? She looks awfully young._

Ruby took off her helmet, which Blake saw was red with a rose stenciled on it in black. Her hair was in a short black bob with the ends died deep red. _Ruby red indeed._

Blake watched the remainder of the skiers – Weiss made it in forty-eight. Not quite as amazing, but still better than Blake could ever hope to do. Some of the other ones she marked as impressive as well. Jaune Arc and Nora Valkyrie from Beacon – she thought she had Nora in her Literature 101 class. And wasn't Jaune the one who almost got suspended for cheating allegations? Emerald Sustrai from Haven. Neon Katt from Atlas, who had kitty ears on her helmet. _Nice pun._

"Next up," Penny said, "is women's snowboarding!" _How is she always so cheerful?_ Blake wondered. _What is she on?_ _Probably one of those "high on life" people._

Blake continued sipping her tea and pondering Penny's endlessly optimistic takes on the snowboarders. Then she heard a name she remembered. "Last but not least is Ruby's older sister, the other half of the dynamic duo, and Vale University's top boarder. She graduated from Signal High just like her sister, and is moving up in the rankings faster than she rides. Everyone give it up for the current favorite, Beacon Academy's Yang Xiao Long!" Some of the other patrons started clapping. One of them wolf-whistled. _I wonder why she's so popular._

A snowboarder in bright yellow made her way to the edge of the slope as Penny began the countdown. "Three!" Blake watched as the stopwatch reset. "Two!" Several newscasters pointed their cameras up to the top of the slope. "One!" She could see Yang leaning forward just a little bit over the edge. "Start!" The timer flashed and began its frantic count upwards faster than Blake could follow.

Yang wasn't a skier like Blake, so she had no idea what she was looking for in terms of technique. But whatever she was doing seemed to be working. She was pure motion, a streak of gold against the pure white snow. If her sister was wind, Yang was wildfire. Faster than hell and would burn down every obstacle in her path. Nothing could hold her back. 

She hit all the turns perfectly, switching edges on her board like a natural, as if she'd been born on it. Blake set her mug down on the table. She was entranced as the snowboarder nailed every curve and bump in the slope. Snow sprayed out behind her in a fan as she accelerated downhill. Her palms sweat as she watched Yang slide smoothly from one direction to the other faster than she could blink. _How was she not falling_ _? Could she teach Blake?_

Somewhere, Penny was shouting encouragement and commentary and time and technicalities, but Blake couldn't hear her. Her heart raced and she stared open mouthed as Yang slid across the finish line, then skidded to a stop, snow falling around her, glittering in the sunlight. Penny had apparently learned her lesson from last time and taken a good step back. 

Sun tapped her again. "Blake? You might wanna shut your mouth. Or flies will go in it." 

"Huh? Oh." She closed her mouth sheepishly, then looked back at the slope. "Right."

Then Yang took off her helmet and time stopped. Again. She shook her head, and golden hair streamed out behind her, glinting in the winter sun. Deep lilac eyes stared up at her. _Gods, did Yang see her? It certainly feels like it._ A cocky grin crossed the blonde's face as she undid the bindings on her boots. It was like she was looking up at Blake. Who might have been drooling a little bit. Was her mouth open again? Whatever, that was a problem for future Blake. _Gods, I'm gay._

On the back of Yang's snowboard was a stylized heart on fire. Blake thought it was fitting, given that her heart was going to explode from her chest any second now and that it definitely did not feel like twenty-seven degrees. Was there a fire somewhere? Had the temperature suddenly spiked? Was she sweating? Should she go down and talk to Yang? Would that be weird?

Her mind was spinning. She couldn't latch on to any thoughts. Everything was moving so fast and Blake couldn't keep up and had she mentioned Yang was pretty? Would it be weird for her to jump off the deck and run for her? Maybe she should go inside before she embarrassed herself. 

Someone pinched her. "Blake, you useless bisexual," Sun said, scowling. "The nice waitress has been waiting for your order for a solid minute and a half." The waitress snorted, then regained her composure and held up her notepad, tapping her pencil impatiently.

Blake flushed, forcing herself to look away from Yang. Was she blushing? This was embarrassing. She gazed at the floor, hoping it would reveal secrets to her. Or open and swallow her whole so she didn't have to look at Sun after this. Or the waitress. Or anyone.

 _Right. They were at a restaurant. To eat food. Not to stare at pretty girls. Speaking of which, Yang was right ther-_ She snapped out of her thoughts again, feeling Sun's eyes on her. If she didn't do anything, she'd probably get pinched again. Maybe slapped. Rattling off a sandwich she recalled from seeing the menu earlier to a smirking waitress, her mind switched back to the topic at hand. Yang Xiao Long. 

Who was currently climbing up the stairs to the café deck. 

_Oh gods._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was tempted to make the "innkeeper's skirt length" joke.


	3. Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for all the hits and kudos! I logged in to start drafting chapter three and saw how much this blew up and it made my day. thank you all so much. it makes me so happy to see that people enjoy my writing, even if it's not that great.
> 
> the end of term is kicking my butt but i'll do my best to update 1-2 times a week. maybe more, if i'm trying to procrastinate, which is a lot.

_Oh gods,_ Blake thought as she watched Yang stride up the stairs. Her brain was short-circuiting. _Those eyes_. _Her hair. She's so damn pretty._ Someone was saying something. _Sun?_ Whatever. If she couldn't hear it, it probably wasn't important. Probably. 

The blonde was on the deck now. _Where was she going to sit? Would she come over to Blake's table?_ She was walking towards Blake and Sun and Neptune. Blake's eyes widened. Her internal monologue shut off entirely.

Yang stopped walking when she reached their table, and Blake was pretty sure her heart stopped too.

"Hey," Yang said, stripping off her gloves and clipping them to her jacket. "What's up? I saw you watching me today." As she finished the last sentence, she winked at Blake, who performed the mental equivalent of a keysmash. "You a fan?"

Thankfully, Sun saved her from impending doom. "Yeah," he said. "We're from Beacon. Well, she's from Beacon. We're from Shade," he added, pointing at himself and Neptune in turn. The blue haired man flashed a thousand watt grin that Yang proceeded to ignore. 

_Please be gay please be gay please be gay._

"Ah," Yang responded, raising an eyebrow. "You already know I'm Yang. What are your names?"

"Neptune Vaslilias."

"Sun Wukong."

Sun nudged Blake with one shoulder. She stared, starry-eyed, up at Yang. "Name," she mumbled. "That is a thing. That I have. Uh. Right. I'm Blake Belladonna, fellow freshman from Beacon Academy."

"What's your major?" Yang asked. "If you've chosen one, obviously"

"Creative writing. I've always wanted to be a writer," Blake replied. "Oh, and I'm a double major with business as a backup."

"Ambitious. I'm undecided," Yang admitted. "But a degree in business goes a long way, so I'm leaning towards that. And you guys?" she asked, looking to Neptune and Sun. 

"Undecided," they said in unison.

Neptune slammed his mug on the table, whipped cream sloshing out of it. "JINX! No more talking," he ordered an incredulous Sun. 

The blond crossed his arms and looked away in mock offense. 

Yang started to step away, but Blake stood up quickly. "Want to sit here with us?"

Her eyes widened. "Yes, actually. I'd love too!"

Blake blushed. "Let me get you a chair-"

Neptune brushed past both of them. "Ladies, please. I'll get Ms. Xiao Long a chair." Blake sat back down.

"Is he always like this?" Yang whispered. 

"Pretty much," Blake answered. The other girl winced. "Do you want me to talk to him?" Yang shook her head as Neptune came back with a chair. _Is she into girls? Please be into girls._

"Wait," Neptune interjected. "Should I get one for your sister?"

"Nah, she's on a lunch date with Weiss," Yang said nonchalantly, as if having your little sister dating an heiress to the world's largest electronics company was no big deal. 

Blake's eyes turned to saucers. _Oh my god, her sister's gay. That means she might be gay. Is gay genetic? At least she's not homophobic._ _Maybe she's bi. Or pan. Or lesbian. Just please like girls please please please please._ "Cool," she said, unable to think of a proper response. "I, uh. Don't feel like you have to sit with us if you don't want to." _Fuck. Wait. I don't wanna drive her off. AH!_

"Trust me, I'm here because I want to be. You guys seem interesting and I haven't met too many people at Beacon, you know, with skiing and all. That's basically my entire life," she said, sitting down in the chair and flinging one leg over the side, almost whacking Neptune with a boot in the process. 

"How long have you been skiing for?" Blake asked. "Er, snowboarding, sorry."

"Since I was four," Yang answered. "Basically as long as I can remember. But I didn't really get into racing and stuff until high school. Then I got the scholarship to Beacon, and here I am now. And you?"

"Uh, since I started at Beacon. Like on the weekends and stuff. I'm not very good yet. Vacuo doesn't exactly have tons of snow."

"We started last weekend," Neptune said, gesturing to Sun as well. "Well, he did. I prefer to stay inside where it's not cold."

Yang laughed. "Understandable. I don't know what I'd do if I had to survive Vacuo's heat."

"Melt?" Blake suggested. "It's really not that bad. You should go down there sometime." 

"Maybe," Yang said, "if you'd be willing to take me there and show me around and stuff."

Blake's heart leaped in her chest, but she was interrupted by the untimely arrival of the waitress with their food. 

As she set down their food, she noticed Yang. Her eyes widened. "Oh my! Miss Xiao Long, can I get you anything?"

"Yes, the usual, please," Yang said with practiced ease.

"Grilled cheese with bacon bits, parmesan fries, and extra sweet tea? Coach Ebi would disapprove."

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he can make an exception for _one day._ One grilled cheese will not ruin my chances at winning."

"Hey, I'm not judging you. I'd have gone insane with that kind of diet," the waitress said, scribbling something on her notepad. 

"Gotta build muscle." Yang flexed her bicep and mimed kissing it. "It makes sense, but it just kinda sucks to pack protein shakes three meals a day."

"No raw eggs?" Blake asked as the waitress walked off with Yang's order. "I thought that was a Sport Person Thing."

"First," Yang said, "I love the term Sport People and will never use anything else. Second, who in their right mind would eat a raw egg? They're slimy." She made a face. "Unless they're in cookie dough, in which case, yum. Salmonella is a whisk I'm willing to take."

"A whisk?" Neptune asked. "Wait. That was-"

Yang made finger guns. "Dough such thing as a bad pun."

Sun groaned. "Seriously?"

"You broke your vow of silence!" Neptune exclaimed. "You owe me now."

"I thought that was a crumby pun," Blake added.

Yang grinned. "That's the spirit!"

"You know, you almost could say I _knead_ puns to live."

"Life is what you _bake_ it, after all."

"Well, it's the _yeast_ I could do to share these puns with you." Blake sighed. "Okay, that one was a stretch."

"Pretty good, in my opinion," Yang said. "You know, I _loafed_ those."

Neptune winced. "Please stop. I think Sun's dying."

The girls looked over to see Sun pretending to faint over the back of his chair. "Fine," Blake conceded. 

Sun sat up. "Oh thank gods. I thought I was seeing the other side."

"I've been told my puns are _killer_ ," Yang said, a grin crossing her face.

The other girl almost spit her tea out trying not to laugh. The look of betrayal on Sun's face was priceless. 

Yang put her hand over her heart like she was getting ready to swear in at a trial. "I, Yang Xiao Long, promise to not make any more bad puns for the remainder of this meal." She shrugged. "Can't really say anything about later though."

Blake thought that her heart couldn't possibly be beating any faster. Then it did. _Oh gods oh gods oh gods. Did she just say later? More time? With Yang? Yang. Yang._ She tried to wipe her palms off on her snow pants, then remembered they were water resistant. At least she'd tried. "So," she said, brushing a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "What were your plans for later?" 

Yang blinked. "Uh, hang with you guys, if that's okay. I don't wanna, like, intrude. Or something."

She shook her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. "No! I mean, that'd be awesome. Sun keeps telling me I need friends that aren't from books."

"My uncle keeps telling me I need to get friends outside of the ski team. But in my defense, three hours of practice five days a week means I spend a LOT of time with them. Coach Ebi never shuts up about team bonding. Ever. It gets annoying, but I tolerate them."

Blake bit into her turkey club and hummed.

"That good? I told you the sandwiches were-" Yang started, but stopped as she saw Neptune miming slitting her throat. "Fine. No puns. Even though it pains me greatly."

"You were saying about your afternoon plans?" Sun asked. 

"Oh, yeah." Yang regained her composure. "Could I board with you guys? It's an off day now that I'm done with time trials, but I still want to have fun, you know? Plus everything's better in a group."

"I think you may be a little advanced for us," Sun said as Yang's grilled cheese and industrial-sized bottle of sweet tea arrived. "Don't wanna hold you back or anything."

"Sometimes it's nice to just cruise. Like Blake, you can't read classic lit all the time. At some point you've gotta read trashy YA romance or fanfic or something."

Sun flinched. "Brace yourself for the three hour tirade about how trashy YA romance is actually good."

"It's trashy, and that's exactly why it's good," Blake said defensively. "Comfort food. Or comfort books. Or," she nodded at Yang, "comfort snowboarding."

Yang smiled as she bit into her grilled cheese. "Can't wait." 

Blake didn't think she'd ever be able to forget that smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: wow I can't wait to work on my writing!
> 
> me, now with free time: what if I just stared at my screen blankly and typed one word every five minutes


	4. Not Fall in Love With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I've had ~issues~.

Blake didn't think she'd ever be able to forget that smile. _As if she'd want to,_ she thought to herself. _Who could not like Yang?_

She probably needed to reply. _Quick, think of something witty!_ "Me neither."

"Well then," Sun asked, pushing away an empty plate, "what are we waiting for?"

Yang, mouth full of grilled cheese, gestured at her pile of cheesy fries. She swallowed and added, "I'd like to finish my lunch first, if that's okay."

Sun realized his mistake and nodded quickly. "Of course. Sorry."

She shrugged in response. "It's fine. I'm just used to eating really quickly and it's nice to be able to slow down for once. Plus, the snow's not going anywhere. If anything, there's a chance for more tonight."

Neptune's brow furrowed. "Wait. But we just got snow yesterday. How can there be more? It's clear."

Blake snorted. "This isn't a desert like Vacuo. Rain and stuff is common here."

"Oh."

A silence filled the table. Yang looked moderately embarrassed at being the one holding everyone else up. _Shit. Gotta restart the conversation._ "So, Neptune, if you're not coming with us, what are you gonna do for the rest of the afternoon?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably hang around the lodge for a bit and see if I meet anyone interesting." Blake suppressed a laugh. By anyone interesting, he meant women with a pulse. "Maybe go read a book." _Did he read?_ She'd never seen him with a book that wasn't required reading. On the other hand, her own dorm was filled with books. Books under the bed. Books in the closet. Books in her bed. Books on the dresser. 

"Sounds–" she searched for words. "Fun."

Neptune nodded. "Yeah, there was this one girl I wanted to hang out with more – Coco's her name, I think? Anyway I met her at the coffeeshop this morning and she seemed nice. Apparently she works here to save up money for design school. She's getting off work at two so I figured I'd get to see her then."

"Just to clarify," Sun asked, "you spent your entire morning chatting up girls in a coffee shop?" 

"What else would I have done? Ski into a tree?" 

"Hey," Sun protested. "That was Blake."

"I did not!" she retorted, trying to regain her dignity in front of an amused Yang. "I was looking at a map and then you skied into me."

"Yeah, because you decided to stop _in the middle of the slope_ to stop and get out your map."

She winced. "I thought we were lost?" It came out as a question.

"You've been here for months now."

"That's a valid point," she admitted. "But I'd never skied that one before. So I didn't know where we were." She crossed her arms, confident in her argument.

Sun sighed. "She's neglecting to mention that the tree we smashed into had a sign on it. Saying exactly where we were."

"I guess I'll stop talking before I dig myself into a deeper hole."

Yang finished her grilled cheese. "But I like hearing you talk."

Blake's eyes widened. She flushed, then looked down at her plate. "Oh." And just when she thought she'd had her heart rate under control, too. "Thank you."

Yang finished a fry and nodded. "I only speak facts."

She smiled. "Where do you want to go after lunch? There's several different areas of the park we could go to. Do you have a favorite?" she asked, before pulling out the map. Flattening out the map, she added, "Sun and I are mostly on greens and blues – sorry if that's below your level."

The blonde snorted. "We've had this conversation, like twice already. I told you it's fine. If I want to leave, I can leave. You're not gonna handcuff me to the chairlift or something. Probably. Please don't do that – it's already happened once and getting security called is never fun."

  
Neptune looked intrigued. "I want to hear this story now."

She shook her head. "No."

"Fine. Later then?"

"I – what part of 'No' do you not understand?"

He raised his hands defensively. "Uh. Never mind."

 _Finally,_ Blake thought. _Someone who puts Neptune in his place. It almost seems to good to be true... but so does the fact that a professional skier wants to spend her afternoon with me._ Was this a trick? Were there cameras? _Never mind that, just enjoy yourself._ "So, as we were saying before _someone –_ " she glared daggers at Neptune. "Interrupted, do you have any places you want to go to? Or like, ones you'd recommend? That aren't too hard, please."

She spent her free time reading and writing. She was an English major. So why couldn't she form coherent and complete sentences? Was it a side effect of Yang's existence? Did she leave everyone like this? Or was Blake just really gay?

Half a second later, she realized Yang was staring at her, finger on the map. "Er, I zoned out. Sorry about that."

Yang waved her hands frantically. "No no no! It's fine, I swear. I do the same thing all the time. As I was saying, there's a glade off the side of Raven's Run, it's got some nice views at the end. Not too steep that you're focused on trying not to die, but enough that you don't have to kick or drag with your poles – you guys ski, right?" Blake nodded. "Yeah. It's one of my favorite places. Especially on clear days like this. Also, it's sunny – pun intended – and warmish relative to the rest of the slopes. Most of them face north to keep them out of the sun and melting down to slush. In the spring, it's the worst. But right now? Wonderful," she said, making an OK sign with one hand. 

"Sounds good," Blake replied. "How do we get there? I've never been there."

"Juniper chairlift to Forever Fall to Emerald Forest to Stark Chairlift. Both of those are hi-speed quad lifts, so it won't be too long, even though they're usually kinda crowded. The line looks bad, but it's actually surprisingly fast."

"Alright!" Sun exclaimed, standing up. "Let's go!" 

Yang nodded. "Lead the way."

He stood up and pushed his chair back in, then led them down the stairs. He turned to head to the lift when a confused Yang yelled his name. "Sun, wrong way. You need your skis first."

An embarrassed Sun trailed them to the racks. Blake had snapped both skis on was picking up her poles when she noticed Yang only had one boot buckled in.

"Aren't you supposed to have both of them in?"

"Huh? Oh. Well if I put both of them on, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere. I need one foot to push myself around. Watch." Yang pushed off with her free foot, then set it on her board and glided a few yards. 

Blake followed her. "You know we're missing Sun, right?" 

The blonde snorted. "No we aren't. He beat us to the lifts."

"HI!" Sun yelled from the line. "I saved you spots!"

Her face furrowed. "That's not how that works."

Blake shrugged. "It is if you're Sun. Come on, let's go get in line with him before he gets eaten alive."

They made their way over to Sun, cutting in front of several dozen others to get there. "Finally!" he sighed. "You guys were taking _forever_." 

Yang pushed herself forward to line up at the plastic bar embedded in the snow. "Get moving. The next chair is gonna get here soon."

The other girl scrambled to make it in time, fumbling when she had to pull the bar down. The chair swung as they pulled out of the lift station and accelerated. She sighed with relief. "I hate that feeling."

"Yeah, it's hard," Yang admitted. "But in my opinion, the two person ones with no bar are worse. Forty feet up and nothing to stop you from falling..." She shuddered. "A fall like that would probably sideline me indefinitely. Snow is soft, but you'd definitely break something."

"Thank you," Sun said, "for my new recurring nightmare."

"You're welcome. Do you play any sports?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do track and field."

They launched into a discussion about the intricacies of sports that Blake pretended to follow. Apparently Yang did cross country in the off-season to stay in shape. 

"What about you, Blake?" Yang asked.

She flushed and looked at the snow passing underneath them. "Oh, I'm not really a sports person. I've always been pretty bookish. I stopped doing team sports and stuff in fifth grade. PE class was agony. Thankfully, Beacon doesn't have a requirement for it. No offense or anything," she added as an afterthought. "I don't, like, hate sports. They're just not my thing, you know?"

Yang smiled. Blake wished she had a camera so she could take a picture, pin it on her dorm wall, and stare at it forever. "That's okay. English class was never really my thing either. We've all got our skills. You've been able to see mine. I'd love to read something you wrote someday."

Blake's eyes widened. Nobody ever asked to see her writing. Ninety-nine percent of the responses she got when she mentioned she was an English major were requests for essay editing. As if she had time. 

_Oh god, what on earth do I have that she'd like?_ Most of her writing was analyses of classical texts. Hardly romantic. The rest of it was overly melancholy poetry she'd written post-breakup. 

What if she wrote a story just for Yang? _I like this idea,_ she thought. _A romantic story. With subtext so heavy it rips the page._

"Yeah, I think I have something. I can text it to you later."

"Great! I can't wait. When we get back to the base, I'll give you my phone number so you can send it." 

_OH MY GODS_

_I JUST GOT HER NUMBER  
_

_I JUST GOT YANG'S PHONE NUMBER_

It was an effort to keep herself from hyperventilating. 

_AAAAAAA_

"Hey, if I'm not interrupting anything," Sun said, interrupting Blake's internal screaming session, "I would like to point out that we're basically on top of the offload station."

"Shit, you're right. Feet off the bar," Yang ordered. "It's go time."

She hefted the bar up and over their heads. The station rushed up to meet them. Blake braced herself to get off. In one smooth movement, she was off, then skidded to a stop in front of a directional sign. _Finally, a clean stop. And Yang was there to see it!_

Yang slid up to Blake, Sun trailing her. 

"Ready?" she asked. They nodded. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how many references can I squeeze in?


	5. Shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow look at me coming up with ACTUAL CHAPTER TITLES instead of just numbering them
> 
> on a side note, I started this 12/31 so FUCK YEAH this should be posted by new year. 
> 
> ring in 2021 with some cute lesBEEans

"The first one," Yang said as she strapped her left boot back in, "is called Forever Fall. Nobody really knows why it's called that. There's several theories. First, the trees here don't lose their leaves until late December, which is pretty odd. The other one is that it's really long and feels like you're falling forever. I prefer the first one, personally. It's smooth and always groomed, so don't worry about moguls."

The only thing Blake was worried about was making a fool of herself in front of Yang. Whose phone number she was about to get. Who'd winked at her over grilled cheese. Who she was going to write for. 

She adjusted her grip on her poles. "I'm ready when you are," she said at the same time as Yang.

"JINX!" Sun yelled.

Yang turned to look at him, confused. "You didn't even say anything. You can't call jinx. 

Blake shook her head. "I don't think he can either. Sun, you've committed a crime."

He raised his hands defensively. "Hey! I was just pointing out-"

"What even is the punishment if you break the jinx?" Yang wondered aloud.

Blake's brow furrowed. "I– I never thought about it. Is there one? Has someone broken it before?"

"No idea."

"That's weird. I don't think I'll be able to focus on anything else now." _Except you_ , she added in her head. 

"I would like to remind you that we are here to ski – and snowboard! – not debate old playground games," Sun pointed out. 

"We said we were ready," the blonde protested. "Then you started with your jinx thing." 

He sighed. "That's fair. If everyone's ready, I propose we get moving. It's already one thirty and the lifts close at five."

Yang snorts. "It's not that long. We could probably do it three times, at least."

Blake nodded, then gestured down the slope. "Lead the way. Sun, you can be the caboose." 

The other girl learned forward and slid over the edge of the slope. With a wave, she motioned for Blake and Sun to follow. Her style had changed. Instead of fast, tight, turns at maximum speed, she had slowed down to curve smoothly across the snow, leaving wide arcs in her wake. The movements weren't the sharp changes in direction from earlier, but smooth, like water flowing over rocks. 

Sun had been concerned earlier because Blake's black outfit resembled the outfit of literally everyone else on the mountain. She'd added a deep purple scarf after that. He sighed and said it was close enough. Yang, on the other hand, was unmistakable and resplendent in gold and orange with lavender accents. It reminded Blake of fire. 

After three near misses with a rock, a tree, and an irritated ski school instructor, she resolved to stop focusing on Yang and start focusing on actually skiing. Doing her best to follow the other girl's tracks, she gradually gained speed and pulled up closer to Yang. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed Sun was falling behind. _Oops._ He'd catch up, what with his penchant for going at maximum speed near the bottom of a run. He excused it saying that he needed the speed to get into the line without having to push himself along with his poles. Blake didn't buy it. She was pretty sure he just like going as fast as possible. 

On each side of the run were towering birch trees. Despite it almost being January, a few still had red and gold leaves clinging to the bottommost branches. As she watched, some of them fell, twirling in lethargic loops towards the snow. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yang speed into the forest. She didn't follow – she'd had enough tree collisions for one day. They continued on parallel courses. _Perhaps Yang just wanted a challenge,_ she thought. _Or to show off._ Then she dipped into a squat and leaned backward(without falling, Blake noted) to pick up something off the ground before tucking it into her pocket. _Did she lose something earlier? Why not go back and get it the first time? Maybe she didn't noticed._

A minute later, Yang whooped as she shot out of the forest, flying off of a snow ramp between two towering trees. Before she hit the snow again, she travelled at least twenty feet and had flipped, going head over heels. As her snowboard hit the ground, Blake blinked twice to make sure what she saw was real. _What? How did she do that?_

Was her jaw open again? She should probably close it.

Yang stopped, then turned to look up the slope at Blake and Sun. Blake hockey-stopped behind her. "Did you just do a flip?" 

The blonde grinned. "Yep. Practice makes progress, as Coach Ebi says. He says perfection isn't attainable, then lands a triple cork." She shrugged. "I'm never not impressed with him, but no, he has to be humble all the time." Blake nodded as if she knew what that meant. Yang must have seen her confused look, because she added, "That's three full spins, but sideways, if it makes sense. While in the air."

"That's impressive."

She nodded, then unzipped her pocket and pulled something out of it. "Found this for you." She held up a golden leaf in one gloved hand. "Here. It matches your eyes perfectly."

 _It's just a leaf_. So why was she almost crying? _She went out of her way to get this. For me. I... Is this flirting? I don't know..._

Blake took it. "Thank you. It's beautiful." _But not as beautiful as you._

Would she ever be able to flirt properly? Signs pointed to no. But as her earlier experience with a certain tree indicated, she wasn't very good at reading signs. Maybe there was hope. 

"When I get back to my dorm, I'll press it and then hang it up. Maybe I can borrow some acrylic from the art building..." she trailed off, realizing she was thinking out loud. _Oh god. What if she didn't mean for me to keep it? Maybe I won't hold onto it..._

"That's an awesome idea," Yang said.

"Thanks." _I'm keeping the leaf. Maybe I can write something about it for you, like I promised._

_How does one add gay subtext to leaves, anyway?_

"YOOO THAT WAS AWESOME!" Sun yelled as he skidded to a halt just above Blake and Yang. "Where'd you learn to flip like that?"

"I snowboard professionally, er, at least as part of a college – i'd love to go pro someday. But it's not that hard, honestly," Yang admitted. "And before you ask, I can't teach you. There's something in the paperwork and I can't be liable for you breaking your neck, no offense."

He waved a hand. "Nah. None taken. Solid logic. What's that?" he asked, pointing to the leaf Blake was about to slip into her pocket.

"Oh, this? It's a leaf."

She couldn't see his eyes through his mirrored goggles, but she was pretty sure he was rolling them. "I figured that part out, genius. Why that leaf?"

"Yang got it for me. It matches my eyes."

He nodded in approval. "Very nice." 

She smiled, then put it in her chest pocket, zipping it shut. "Mmhm. I was going to press it when we get back."

"Cool."

"Weren't you just complaining we were on a schedule?" Yang pointed out.

"Uh, lead the way, then."

She leaned a little bit, then began to slide backwards. Blake almost lunged forward to help her, then realized A) Yang was literally an award-winning snowboarder B) she was in skis and would get pulled down with the blonde anyways C) this was intentional.

Blake shifted her weight to turn down the hill and followed, Sun bringing up the rear. She patted her pocket, as if to make sure the leaf was still there. It was. _Where would it go, anyway?_ Gods, it was a leaf. She needed to chill. 

As she followed, Yang spun around twice before facing forward again. _Should I try that? It seems like an excellent way to break my skull open. I guess I'll stick with what I'm good at to impress her._

Wait. 

"SUN, PLEASE DON'T TRY ANYTHING STUPID!" she yelled over her shoulder. 

It was too late.

Sun was already trying stupid things. Namely skiing backwards. He waved as he passed her. "Sun! That's a bad idea."

"Nah. I'll be fine. Ski instructors do it all the time."

"I- You're not a ski instructor."

He spun back around. "See? Fun."

"I am not doing that."

"Your loss."

"Please don't run into a tree," she added as he turned backwards again."

"I think that's your job, if I recall correctly." She groaned inwardly. Would he ever let that go? "Before you ask," he added, "I'm not going to let it go. Maybe I'll tell the story at your wedding with Firecracker over there."

She winced. "Is it that obvious?"

"You made moony eyes for most of lunch. I had to poke you several times to snap you out of it. Then you almost fainted when she handed you a leaf."

"That's a compelling argument. Please don't tell her," she begged.

"I won't." His voiced softened. "I know I can go a little to hard with my jokes, but I can tell you really like her. I won't do anything to jeopardize it. She seems really sweet. Also, I bet she's ripped under all that snow gear." He grinned.

"SUN!" She blushed. "I don't need that mental image right now."

"You almost crashed into a ski Instructor. I'm not sure how much more distracted you can get. They wear neon orange for a reason."

"I-"

"And a tree. So don't ever talk to me about hitting things while being distracted."

"Ugh. Fine."

"Bet you can't beat me to the bottom of the slope."

"It is _on_!" she crowed. 

Coming out of her wedge, she bent her knees and pulled her skis parallel, just like Sun had showed her. _Using his tricks against him. Nice._ She could feel the wind lift her scarf up off her back as she gained speed. 

_Focus. You can continue the Gay Tension™ when you get on the chairlift._

Even though she had her goggles on, the sensation of icy wind on her face made her narrow her eyes. _I really am going to need chapstick later_ , she thought. _Especially if– NO! Focus. Beat Sun into the ground, then worry about your future wife._

She gritted her teeth as she dodged another ski instructor. _Gods, they're everywhere_. Looking back up the hill, she could see Sun gaining on her, leaning so far forward in his boots it looked like he would fall over. He had his arms out behind him. It looked ridiculous. It was also very fast.

_Shit._

Yang had already reached the bottom of the slope and was leaning nonchalantly against a light post, examining her gloves. _The end is in sight. Come on, come on come on!_

Checking again, she saw that Sun had narrowed the gap between them to a dozen yards. _Faster... Almost there._

The lift rushed up to meet her. 

She realized she needed to stop. Crashing into Yang was probably a bad idea, she thought. 

_I've done the hockey stop once, I can do it again,_ she told herself. _It's easy. Just turn sideways and dig the upslope edge in. Simple. So simple I've only fallen a thousand times trying to do it._

Sun had told her over and over to stop hesitating, to just commit and go. No point in waiting. _Just do it! You don't need to sacrifice your pride._

She realized she probably should have committed when she slammed full force into a shocked Yang.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im still cringing at my pun in the beginning notes I understand if you wish to revoke your kudos.
> 
> here is a triple cork: https://youtu.be/Br6ZJM01I6s?t=28


	6. Touch the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright how much GAY can I fit in
> 
> survey says: a lot

The force of the collision knocked them back several feet. She heard the telltale click of ski bindings releasing – some safety feature, the attendant had assured her when she bought them – and gear thudding to the ground. Her helmet took most of the impact, but her ears rang. Snow sprayed up around them as she screwed her eyes shut instinctively, though she was wearing goggles. She hoped there wasn't snow in her boots. They'd take forever to dry and wet boots were no fun. After what felt like an eternity, they stopped moving. 

When Blake opened her eyes, she was staring down at Yang, their goggles pressed together. She could make out Yang's wide eyes looking back up at her. Her feet felt light and her head felt lighter. Where had her skis gone? She didn't have her poles. At least she still had both gloves. And all four limbs. The little things, her mom would say. _Hooray for not getting decapitated in a horrible skiing accident_

Then she realized that she was basically on top of the hottest girl she ever met and almost died. It would have been a good death, she thought. She could stare into those eyes for days and the way the other girl's chest was rising and falling and how she could feel her heart beating through her jacket and her breath was fogging up her goggles and _oh gods_ was she in trouble. Her lips were _right there_. So red. So kissable. So close to her and all at once so far out of her league. What fates had brought her here? What had she done to deserve this? Was it a blessing? A curse? Her breathing sped up. Her knees felt like jelly. 

_Come on, don't be weird, just shake it off!_

Frantically, she sat up, trying to get rid of the growing tension. _That just made it worse! Now you're sitting on her! Blake, you idiot!_ "I, uh- sorry?" _Oh gods. Why did I phrase it as a question? How did Beacon ever accept me as an English major? Where did my way with words go?_ "I'll get up now," she added. _So poetic. GET A GRIP, BELLADONNA. Someone who plans on writing for a living should be able to hold up a conversation..._

She scratched the back of her neck through her scarf as she stood up. "I'm so sorry. I lost control there for a second and couldn't stop." _The cardinal sin of skiing,_ she thought. Brushing snow off her jacket, she reached out with one hand to help the other girl up.

Yang took it, using her leg muscles – which Blake worked very hard not to think about – to push herself back into a standing position. While still bound into a snowboard, no less. _Impressive._ She wasn't wearing a neck gator, so Blake could see her entire face. Which was currently very, very red. _Why is she flushed like that?_ Blake wondered. _I crashed into_ her _, not the other way around. There's no reason for her to be embarrassed. I was the one that stared into her eyes for half a minute like a creep._ She pulled the blonde to her feet, stammering apologies.

"It's okay," Yang said, blushing. "I'm fine. Stop apologizing."

"Hey ladies," Sun interrupted, saving Blake from verbal suicide. "Nice yard sale." He held up two skis and a pole. "I think you'll be wanting these."

Blake took them. "Thanks." He nodded as she clicked her heels to reactivate the bindings, then handed her the poles. "Also, I won."

He considered it for a second. "No, I don't think you did."

"What?!"

"You almost killed poor Ms. Xiao Long here."

Yang nodded. "Yeah. What if I _died_?" Her face was so serious Blake wondered if she should call a lawyer and maybe get a big tree branch to protect herself with. Or look into running away to Vacuo. Then Yang burst into laughter and Blake smiled, relieved.

"Well, you said first one to the bottom of the slope. Nothing about casualty limits."

"That's fair," he admitted. "Yang, what's the rule in professional skiing?"

"I snowboard."

He sighed. "Yang, what's the rule in professional snowboarding?"

"I'm in college."

"You know what I mean!"

"Do I?"

"Yeah," Blake added, "does she?"

Sun groaned. 

"I actually have no idea what the rule is on that," Yang admitted. "I've never considered what would happen if I lost control at high speed and slammed someone out of nowhere. I'll ask Coach Ebi at practice tomorrow, and make sure to mention you by name. But for now, I think we need to get in line before somebody hits us. We're right in the middle of the run."

"Third time's the charm?" Blake asked weakly. "Uh, also, which lift?"

She pointed . "The only running lift. The one that has 'Stark' painted on it in big red letters. That one."

_Blake, can you stop making a fool out of yourself for five seconds? She literally told you sixteen times on the Juniper lift up here so you wouldn't get lost._

"Oh."

_To be fair, you also fried your remaining brain cells staring into her eyes and thinking about what it would be like to -_

Sun grabbed one arm and dragged her up to the load line. "Blake," he hissed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're acting..." he thought for a minute. "Spacey. I don't want you to hit someone again. Especially someone who wouldn't be as forgiving as she was. And also like you're head over heels. Now I wouldn't say it was obvious, but you kinda just stayed on top of her a little longer than was necessary."

"Uh."

He nodded. "Yeah, I thought so. Now get on the lift and flirt or offer her your immortal soul or whatever."

"My soul?"

"Do you think I understand women?"

"No, but-"

Sun patted her on the back. "I believe in you, most of the time. Now go get your girl."

Obediently, she got on the chairlift with Yang. It wasn't until they were rising out of the lift station she realized that the lift seated four, not two. 

She and Yang had a chairlift all to themselves. 

Leaning over the back, she looked down at Sun, who had his goggles up and was grinning up at her, thumbs up. The urge to flip him off was strong, but she resisted. _Later, I will have my revenge. Later._

"So," Yang said. 

"So," Blake replied. _Oh god. I made it three seconds before it got awkward._

"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room, or..." she trailed off. 

Blake shrugged. "I mean, what else is there to say? I crashed into you because I was trying to outrun Sun. There's not much else I can really say." _Except that I'd really like to touch you again. And maybe kiss you. And also be with you for the rest of my life._

Yang looked away, flushed. "I don't know. I just thought –" she inhaled deeply. "You know what? Never mind. I, uh, sorry."

"Oh. It's okay. I go on tangents too sometimes." _A lot of the time, and for the past few hours, all of them have been you. Even though I literally just met you..._ "So, uh, weather's been nice."

"Yeah. We're supposed to get more snow tonight, which would be pretty great. Except I won't get to enjoy it because Coach Ebi wants to hold practice because of the good conditions and the tournament."

"Ouch. Who else is on the team?"

"Well, I'm a snowboarder. Ruby, my little sister, almost followed in my footsteps, but became a skier instead." She shook her head. "Traitor. Weiss is also a skier, but aside from moguls, she also does freestyle skiing and slalom. Jaune's a skier too. His events are moguls, slalom, and downhill. Nora is a snowboarder. She does slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and freestyle. You haven't seen crazy until you've seen her do her full routine on the pipe. Pyrrha does everything, but doubles as a member of ski patrol. She sacrificed her spot in the tournament this weekend to work, 'cause New Year's has the place bustling. Everyone's on break."

"Makes sense. Wait, I actually know Pyrrha. She's one of my friends from Beacon and also helped me learn to ski. Long red hair, green eyes?"

"Yes, actually! I can't believe we both know her."

"Small resort, I guess."

"Then why haven't I seen you around?" _Especially because you're so pretty, surely Pyrrha would have mentioned you..._

She shrugged. "Dunno. I'm a snowboarder and more skilled – no offense – than you, so it makes sense."

"So what do you do for fun, besides snowboarding? Not that snowboarding isn't fun, I mean." _Oh god._ "Like, I don't snowboard but I'm sure it's fun and you look like you're having fun." _Help._

She snorted. "Yeah, it's fun. But skiing is most of my life now. Except in the off season, but even then it's conditioning every other day. Coach Ebi goes hard. Aside from that, my uncle runs a bakery that used to be my step-mom's, before she died. I work there sometimes to earn money, along with Ruby. Weiss did an internship there. That's how we met, actually."

"I'm sorry. About your stepmom, I mean."

"Yeah, it definitely hit Ruby hard. We were both pretty young at the time and our dad wasn't always around. But don't apologize, there's nothing you did wrong. Anyway. Baking. I also skateboard, which is about as close to snowboarding as I can get in the summer. Oh, and hiking. That's fun too."

"I can't say I've ever been hiking," Blake admitted. "I'd love to do it sometime." _With you_ , she added in her head. _Why do I have to be such a coward?_

"Oh. Not an outdoor person?"

"Ah, the outdoors. I visited that mythical place once."

Yang's brow furrowed. "You're literally there right now."

"It's a _joke_."  
  
"I'm sure. But the only joke I see here is you."

Blake gasped in mock offense. "Well _excuse_ me, but I am not a mirror."

"That was an impressively good comeback, I've gotta say," Yang said.

"Well, I suppose even the worst job is impressive if you can't do it."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're admitting you're bad at insults?"

"Nah, just insulting you in particular." 

_Please don't ask why please don't ask why please don't ask why_

"Why?"

"Uh."

The eyebrow raised further.

"I..."

Blake looked at her feet, then realized how far down the ground was and looked up.'

"I'm on vacation."

"How is that even relevant? Do English majors take an "Insults 101" class that you're missing?"

"Maybe." _The only class I'm missing is flirting 101._ "I'll get back to you with a good one once class starts up again. Maybe we'll have classes together." _God, I hope so. Late night library study sessions? Coffee shop test prep? Her coming into my dorm to borrow my textbook..._

"Oh, that'd be cool! I'm not the best in English, so maybe you could tutor me, or something. Also, get ready for offloading. Follow the signs for Mountain Glenn, okay?"

"Got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baking!whiterose AU when???
> 
> I know I said nobody dies, but Summer was dead pre-canon, so I guess she stays dead. 
> 
> prepjock!yang and gothnerd!blake are adorable
> 
> don't mind me im still in the "is clover dead or alive" limbo
> 
> Oh, and yes, I am VERY aware of the connotations of 'mountain glenn' :)))


	7. When It Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title? Ominous.  
> Tags? Updated.  
> Foreshadowing? Mostly done.  
> Hotel? Trivago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's gonna be longer than the other ones, so buckle up.

_At least I didn't make a total fool of myself,_ Blake thought. For once in her life, she'd managed to get off the chairlift smoothly and stop at the beginning of the run to wait for Yang and Sun. Looking back up at the lift station, she saw that Sun was just a few chairs back. She waved up at him. He waved back. 

"Hey," Yang said, arcing around Blake to stop below her and strap in her boots. "You ready for tree skiing?"

"I've never really done it before," Blake admitted. "And given my history of hitting trees and other stationary objects, I'm a bit nervous. But also excited," she added. "Plus you can save me if I'm in danger." 

Yang snorted. "Just watch where you're going."

 _Well, you see, I was too busy being distracted by your existence to notice anything else..._ "Excellent idea. Looking out for things? Revolutionary." 

The blonde nodded in approval. "Amazing tactic, I must say."

Sun halted their conversation before it got anymore awkward. "Ladieeees," he said, dragging out the 'e' for an extra seventeen syllables, "are we ready?" They nodded. "Yang, will you do the honors and lead us?"

"Of course," she replied. "I also don't think you know where you're going. And we should probably try to avoid Blake causing crashes while looking for directions."

Blake put her face in her hands. "Are you guys ever going to let that go?" she groaned. "That was _ONE TIME._ "

He shook his head happily. "Nope! It was one time, but it will live forever in infamy. If you ever get married, I'm telling that story at your wedding. Along with the one about the duck."

"You wouldn't dare!" she protested. "Nobody's allowed to know about the duck!"

"Duck?" Yang asked, confused.

"YES!" Sun crowed at the same time Blake screamed "NO!"

"There is no duck," she reassured Yang. 

"She's lying," Sun hissed. "There is a duck."

"You are not telling her about the duck!"

"HA! You just admitted there was a duck."

"There are lots of ducks," she said. "Wood ducks, for instance. Mallards are also nice."

"As much as I would love to hear about ducks, or lack thereof," Yang interrupted, "I believe we are here for skiing. Blake, I trust that you would never lie to me about something so important as ducks?"

"Of course not," she answered. "That'd be fowl play." She held up fingerguns and grinned.

Yang wheezed, before adding, "You quack me up."

"Toucan play that game."

Sun sighed heavily. "Ple-"

"I have no egrets," Blake continued.

"Your wit is im-peckable."

"You'd have to be stork raven mad to not like these."

Sun dropped to his knees, sliding a few feet down the slope in the process. "Stop. Please."

"Finneeeee."

Yang smirked and held up one hand. "Wait. One more. You could say that the amazingness of these puns is a matter of a PINION." Seeing their blank stares, she clarified, "The feathers on the edge of a bird's wing."

"Oh. That was pretty good," Blake said in an attempt to flirt, despite having no idea what Yang was talking about. "Sun, get up. Let's go."

Sun stood. "Okay. Lead on, oh fearless... Leader."

Yang nodded solemnly, flashing them a peace sign as her board lost its grip on the snow. She skidded backwards, then did a little hop and flipped around to face forwards.

Blake half-smiled. _Will Yang ever cease to amaze me?_ "I'll go on ahead," she told Sun. "You can bring up the rear."

"I could make a joke, but I'm not going to, because I'm a good person."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself so you can fall asleep at night."

Satisfied with her retort, she tilted her skis so they were flat on the ground and pushed forward with both poles. Yang was only a couple dozen yards ahead of her, so she was able to narrow the gap by leaning in her boots and dropping towards the ground. She was definitely getting better at controlled turns, she noticed. She didn't feel so out of control when facing downhill. 

_Remember to pay attention to what you're doing, and not Yang_ , she reminded herself. _Even though Yang is totally flexing right now and looking very hot in the process_. Out of the corner of one eye, she could spot Yang doing a series of increasingly insane spins that had her changing directions on a dime. She was tempted to look uphill, where she was sure Sun was trying to copy her, but decided against it. 

Snapping her attention back to Yang, she noticed the other girl had broken off of the main path and had stopped by a gap in the trees. A small sign was nailed to the tree the snowboarder was leaning against, reading 'Mountain Glenn.' She stopped just uphill of the entrance and waited for Sun to do his signature five hundred mile an hour stop that'd throw snow everywhere. He did his signature five hundred mile an hour stop and threw snow everywhere. Blake would have put money on the fact that Yang was rolling her eyes at the showmanship. She knew it wasn't Sun trying to get Yang. It was just Sun being his overdramatic self.

"We're gonna take this one slow," Yang said. "Don't feel bad if you go into a wedge. It can be steep in places and the trees are close together. If you don't see tracks, don't take that route. Some people like to go backcountry skiing, but that's a bad idea if you're a novice. If you can't find me, yell really loudly. Do your best to keep me in your field of vision, okay?"

Blake and Sun nodded.

"Alright then, let's go!" Yang declared, mock saluting them as she did her signature backward slide. _That's a good sign, right?_ Blake thought. _Excessive hand gestures are a gay thing. Or at least, I think they are._

She stopped her train of thought before she could get too mired in worrying about the other girl's sexuality. _Time to go._ Without saying anything to Sun (who she knew had a joke ready), she pushed off to follow Yang.

Inside the forest, the light was dimmer. Pine trees stretched towards the sky, their branches coated with snow and weighed down with icicles. Blue half-light streamed in through gaps in the trees. It was quieter here, as if the snow swallowed up any sound. She could hear her breathing, the soft swish of her skis on the snow, and her heartbeat. The cold air stung the inside of her lungs, but she kept going. It was refreshing after Vacuo, where the heat and humidity made your shirt stick to your back and your windows fog on the outside. 

Between the trees, she could catch glimpses of Yang's gold coat, a stark contrast against the cool blues and greens of the winter landscape. The trail was flatter than the infamous tree run from earlier in the day. It wasn't stressful. She felt relaxed, for the first time in ages. Sure, there were trees that she needed to avoid, but at least it wouldn't be impossible to stop. 

There wasn't an adrenaline rush like there was earlier. Just... calm. It was an odd feeling. One she hadn't felt in a while. Maybe she'd been more stressed about school than she realized. Nobody expected anything of her, except Sun, who expected her to do the bare minimum and not run over small children. Managable.

It felt like floating. Like an invisible weight had been lifted off of her and she could finally soar. Why hadn't she done this before? What had prevented her from feeling this way? She was free from her troubles, momentarily. She could focus on other things. Things she liked. Beautiful things Like the pale white snow and the winter-bright sky and Yang and the trees and Yang and had she mentioned Yang?

_At least until school starts up again and you plummet back down to earth_ , her traitor brain reminded her. She made the executive decision to ignore that part. _Don't ruin the moment for yourself._

Fortunately, she couldn't ruin it for herself. Because Yang had skidded to a stop. 

She ground to a halt, Sun right behind her. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

Yang made a 'stop' gesture with one hand, then disabled the binding on her left boot. "I'll explain later. Don't do anything stupid." Using her free foot to push herself, she moved into a clearing. 

Blake skated up to the tree line and peeked out. In the clearing were three girls and one boy, who was dressed In silver and black. One of the girls was wearing black and orange, a garish combination, Blake thought. The second was in green and white, and the third was in pink. All four of them were snowboarders.

Oddly, they also had their goggles up. It looked like they were here to stay for a bit. _Weird_ , Blake thought, noticing their boards were lined up against a tree. _What are they doing? There's no picnic tables or anything._

The girl in black took off her helmet and slung it under her arm. Her eyes were bright amber in color, only slightly more orange than Blake's. Her black hair was shorn in a severe bob. A satisfied smirk crossed her face. 

"Why hello, Yang," she drawled. "Fancy seeing you here. Still competing in the tournament, I assume?" The girl in pink uncrossed her arms. She said something in sign language. The girl in black nodded. "I see. Why?"

"Because I enjoy cooking oatmeal," Yang deadpanned. "No, I'm competing because I like snowboarding and because I'm on – now hold on to your hats, because this is really crazy – the Beacon ski team." 

Blake was simultaneously terrified and intrigued. _Ski gang? Drama? Ski drama? Cool._

"I see you brought friends with you," the girl in green said. "Scared?"

Yang sighed in mock exasperation. "Yes. I'm horrified. Absolutely trembling. What are you gonna do? Scream at me really loudly? Complain? Throw snowballs?"

Pink signed again. Green snorted. 

"Perhaps," Black said.

Blake gritted her teeth. _What kind of game is she playing?_

"Care to introduce them?" Black asked.

Yang's hands curled into fists at her sides. "Cinder, I don't have time for this. We're going to leave, okay? Mess with someone else."

_So that's her name. Cinder. I feel like I know that name from somewhere. The list of competitors, maybe?  
_

"I don't think so," a male voice said. Blake turned to see the man in grey standing, arms crossed, at the exit to the clearing. The way they'd come in was too steep, and everything else was blocked by trees. They were trapped. 

Cinder's smirk widened. "If you'd just stop with this already, we wouldn't be having these problems. Wouldn't it be unfortunate if you got disqualified for fighting?"

"Nobody's going to fight," Yang said. "Quit your bullshit, and let us go."

"If you agree to drop out of the tournament, then sure," Cinder replied. 

"I'm _not_ dropping out."

"Ugh," Cinder groaned. "Why are you like this?"

Blake raised her hands. "Now maybe I'm getting the wrong impression here, but are you asking her why she's not dropping out of a snowboarding tournament, despite being a professional–"

"Collegiate," Green, Grey, Cinder, and Yang said at the same time. Pink signed something else. 

"Fine. Collegiate snowboarder. That's her thing. Why are you so mad about her doing what she loves?"

"Wait. Who even _are_ you?" 

The urge to say 'your mom' was strong, but Blake was stronger. "I'm Blake," she said as she skated into the clearing, sliding to a stop at Yang's side."

Cinder's brow furrowed. "I- What are you even doing here?"

"I'm just following Yang around, and honestly, I feel like the better question is what _you're_ doing here. Like, all your gear is piled up against a tree. Do you just chill out here and threaten everyone, or do you only do that for the pretty girls?" Sun nodded in approval. He'd taught her well. She'd write him a thank you note. Or something. "Now if you could let us out, that'd be great."

"And why should I do that?"

 _Uh._ "I'll call ski patrol." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. No service. _Fuck._

She turned her attention back to Yang. "Look, I know you don't like giving up. Consider this... compliance."

"When have you ever known me to comply?"

"Well, you make an excellent point given your violations of the intramural academic qualifications. Sure would be a shame if those violations were exposed."

Yang's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare." Her voice faltered and she gulped.

"Just give up," Cinder hissed through her teeth. "Do you really want to lose your scholarship?"

"I-"

"It'd be _devastating_ , wouldn't it?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." It sounded like Yang was grasping at straws.

Cinder pretended to examine her fingernails. She had gloves on. Blake wasn't sure what she was doing. "Whatever. Mercury, let them go," she ordered, waving one hand in his direction.

Mercury shrugged, then stepped aside. 

Yang snapped her boot back into its binding and slid off into the forest, Sun trailing her. 

Blake followed them, pushing with her poles. _Curse this flat ground_. 

As she passed Mercury, he whispered something in her ear that made her heart stop and fall through the floor.

"Get out while you still can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:)
> 
> yes I did that


	8. I'm the One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry updates are irregular. The new semester is making my life chaotic for a bit.
> 
> me when faced with writing a 4 paragraph essay: I have forgotten how to write. language is beyond my grasp.  
> me when faced with writing a 4k oneshot in one sitting: I am the next ernest hemingway. i have ascended to godhood  
> my english teacher, sobbing in the distance: please dear god just apply yourself

Blake couldn't stop turning the words over and over in her head. _Get out while you still can?_ _What was that supposed to mean?_ _Out of what? The forest? Yang's life? What would happen if she didn't? Should she report this to the police or something? What happened to make those people so mad?_ she wondered as she followed Yang through the forest. The magical effect from earlier was gone, replaced by a cold dread in the pit of her stomach. _What happened? What were they threatening to do?_

And most concerning phrase of all: _Academic Violations_. Was Yang failing a class? She had said she wasn't the best student. But why conceal the fact that she was failing? Unless she thought Blake would snitch. Cinder had implied that Yang would be disqualified if anyone found out.

_Oh gods. Is she lying to the administration? Would she do that? ...Do I want to love someone who does that? Does she value her pride over academic integrity? Maybe I need to listen to the rest of her story first... I don't know what to do..._

At the lift back to the lodge, Sun managed to get in a group of four to take a chair up, leaving Blake and Yang alone. She was torn. Should she say something about the elephant in the room? It wasn't really her business, but at the same time, she was involved now, wether she liked it or not. What was she supposed to do? To say? Maybe she shouldn't say anything at all.

"So," Yang said as they soared out of the lift station, "that was a thing. That happened." Blake nodded. _So we_ are _going to talk about it. I see._ "Those people back there – they're not my friends. They're students at Haven University in Mistral, our main competitor. Atlas is so far above us there's not a point. They'll do anything to get ahead. _Anything_."

"So why you in particular?" Blake asked. "Why not go after someone else?"

Yang sighed, then looked at Blake. "Because I'm the easiest to go after. I'm not the best on the team." Blake doubted that. "–but a scandal would ruin Beacon's reputation and bar them from ever being serious competition again. So they picked me." Her eyes were dim, a far cry from their earlier brightness. "And because they know I'd be the quickest to give in to their threats. I'm only at Beacon because of an athletic scholarship. Same with Ruby. I don't know what we'd do without it."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

She smiled sadly. "Beacon offering us scholarships was a beam of hope into our darkness. My stepmom, dad, and uncle run a bakery. Well, ran. After she died, my uncle wasn't ever the same. He felt like it was his job to protect her, that he'd failed her. He's still not over it, but he's getting better. Slowly. It's still running, but there isn't nearly enough money to send both Ruby and I to college." Yang shrugged, then continued. "It is what it is. I'm here now, and that's what matters."

Blake exhaled sharply. "She – Cinder – mentioned that your grades weren't up to standard. Something about intramural academic qualifications?"

Yang bit her lip. Blake's train of thought derailed completely and went in all the wrong directions. "Yeah."

"And you covered it up?"

She nodded. "There's not really a good way to put it," Yang admitted. Blake raised an eyebrow. "At the end of the term, my grade was a 68.4. I needed a 69 to pass and qualify for athletics. So I convinced Professor Port to raise the grade by one point one points. Not like _that_ ," she added, seeing Blake's expression. "I just asked him to boost it a bit in exchange for running some errands. He said I did well enough on exams to pass, but my in class performance, ah, required more effort."

"Understandable, I guess. Does your he know about this? That you needed to pass to qualify?"

"No."

_Oh._

Yang raised her hands defensively. "Look, I get that it seems bad, okay? And it probably is. But who are we to make moral judgements? I need to keep competing so I can keep my scholarship. And I can't just drop out either. College was supposed to be my path to financial stability. I've gotta stay in the game. I'm going to work harder, I promise. I'm going to _earn_ my place here."

Her words hit Blake hard. _The determination. The way she's fighting for herself and her sister. It's beautiful. But she's still lying. What am I supposed to do? This isn't right, but at least she has solid reasoning._ "Why does she want you to drop out in the first place?"

Another sigh. "Aside from the fact that it would be a hit to Beacon's reputation, we have... issues. Cinder, the one in black and orange, and I aren't very good friends."

"Certainly didn't seem like it," Blake deadpanned.

"Back in high school, I beat her in time trials consistently, and in competitions. She never got over that. Then I got accepted to Beacon on a full ride, and she didn't. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was that she lost to Ruby."

"Why is that bad?" Blake asked.

"Ruby's my younger sister by two years. She skipped several grades and got into Beacon on a full ride too. She deserves it, a hundred percent. Cinder's very very very mad that she got showed up by a younger girl."

Blake folded her hands together and watched the landscape flash by under them. "What do you think you're going to do? You're not going to give in to her, are you?"

Yang snorted. "Hell no. I didn't come this far to give into a brat used to getting what she wants."

"What if she carries through with her threat?"

Yang gave another shrug. "We'll burn that bridge when we get there."

"Interesting turn of phrase."

"Well, maybe we get rid of her. I'm not saying murder, but at the same time..."

"We're not committing murder."

She turned to face Blake, confused. "Who said anything about we?"

Blake flushed. _Oh. Maybe she doesn't want me around. What do I do?_ "I dunno. I thought maybe I could help you with your English course. Most professors offer grade remediation, and I doubt Professor Port's any different. We're on pretty good terms. I'd be happy to put in a word for you, if you wanted."

"Oh! That'd be great. And I'd love it if you'd tutor me," Yang said.

A hundred scenes flashed through Blake's mind. Studying in a café while it snowed outside, sipping tea. Wandering Beacon's library together, hand in hand. Leaning over Yang's shoulder to point out something in the text. Carrying her books for her. Full-blown makeout sessions in Blake's dorm. Now that she thought about it, she realized her RA probably wouldn't bat an eye if she brought a girl in her room overnight. 

Her eyes may have crossed a little bit. "Sounds like a plan," she managed to get out. "I'll email the professor when we get back."

"Thanks," Yang said. "Is there anything you want in exchange?"

_Your hand in marriage._

"I could pay for snacks, or something," she suggested.

_You are a snack. Gods, I would be so good at flirting if I could actually talk out loud like a normal person._ "Yeah, that's a good idea. Snacks." _You. Snack. Hhh._

She smiled. "Cool. Any snacks in particular?"

"Anything's good, really," Blake said. "Dealer's choice. Also, we're almost there, so get ready to lift the bar."

Yang nodded in approval. "You're learning well. How many times did you end up making the full loop because you forgot to get off?"

Blake's jaw dropped. "Sun told you about that? I haven't left you guys alone for more than five minutes and he's telling you those stories!" 

The blonde snorted. "No. It was a lucky guess. You seem like the type to do that. Don't worry, I've done it before. Aaaandddd lift NOW."

Together, they heaved the bar up and behind them. Gravity tugged on Blake's skis for half a second before she hit the ground. She followed Yang a dozen or so yards to a sign for the run back to the lodge.

As they skied back down the hill, Blake's mind raced. Thoughts of Cinder and Mercury swirled in her head. _Who was in the wrong? Why had Yang lied? Why was she failing in the first place? Why had she offered to tutor Yang? Would she have done it if she didn't find her attractive?_ _Was someone going to get hurt? Am I going to get hurt? Mercury_ did _tell me to stay out... What is that supposed to mean?_

Should she tell Sun? She wasn't sure. He was her closest friend, but what Yang had shared seemed very personal. At the same time, it seemed very serious, and something she wanted another opinion on. And on top of ski gangs, the fact that she had completely fallen for this girl in the span of what, four hours? _So many things I need to do._

The sun was setting over the mountains, casting a peachy glow onto the snow. Clouds had begun to come in from the northwest, streaks of bright red in the sky. It was surreal. And Blake couldn't enjoy it because her thoughts were moving so fast. 

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting on benches in the locker rooms under the lodge. Blake was prying off her ski boots to change into infinitely more flexible snow boots. Her feet ached. She should probably get to replacing her insoles soon. Yang had just shut her locker door and was about to walk away when Blake remembered something. "Wait!"

Yang turned to look back at her, confused. "What is it?"

Blake blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, I was gonna give you my number so I could text you about tutoring. And stuff."

"Oh, okay!"

She scribbled her phone number on a piece of paper and handed it over, to Yang who tucked it in her pocket.

"Looking forward to hearing from you," she said. _Real smooth, Belladonna. Real smooth._

Yang winked. "Me too."

Blake's thought process halted as she watched Yang stride out the door and into the sunset. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you guys rather see a Whiterose bakery AU with background fairgame that takes place a few years before this /or/ a fairgame hurt/comfort oneshot? Let me know in the comments!


	9. Boop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for a thousand hits! It means a lot to me to see that people enjoy my writing.

Blake didn't stop talking about Yang at all on the ride home. It probably annoyed Sun, who was driving, and Neptune, who had been relegated to the backseat (it was her car, so she got shotgun privileges!) to no end. But that was beyond her. Because Yang was going to text her soon and then she'd have Yang's phone number and they could talk and she could talk to yang anytime she wanted and if that wasn't the greatest thing, then she didn't know what was.

Sitting by the TV with Sun in the common room, she felt her phone buzz. Swiping to open it, she saw a notification. 

**unknown number:** hey what's up

 **blake belladonna:** who's this?

 **unknown number:** its yang lol

 **blake belladonna:** oh oops sorry

 **blake belladonna:** im blake 

Completely unashamed, she added Yang to her contact list, surrounded by heart emojis.

 **< 3 yang <3**: i figured

 **< 3 yang <3:** so, today was nice

 **< 3 yang <3: **i got to meet you

Blake's heart skipped a few beats. _Right out of the gate. It's almost like she already knows. How do I respond to this? I'm not sinking to asking Neptune for flirting advice._

 **blake belladonna:** well, i could say the same about you...

 **blake belladonna:** hopefully i'll get to see you tomorrow

 **blake belladonna:** when's your next race?

 **< 3 yang <3: **that'd be the championships lol

 **< 3 yang <3: **they're on Friday

 **< 3 yang <3: **but i'd love to see you again before then. 

She squeaked. Sun turned to look at her. "Everything okay?" he asked.

For a second, she was silent. Then the words poured from her mouth. "I met Yang this morning and I think i'm in love with her but I don't know if she likes me back or if she even likes girls at all and I gave her my phone number and I offered to tutor her and I want to spend more time with her and I want to be around her and she's texting me and–" she ran out of breath. Probably for the best. She didn't want to accidentally mention the ski mafia.

_Right, them._

"Uh," Sun said. "That's a lot."

Neptune nodded. "Yang seems cool, from what I saw earlier. You have mostly good taste."

The words stung. _Mostly._

_Him._

_No. I won't think about him. I am not wasting mental space on him when I could fill it with Yang._

But she didn't feel like fighting that battle right now, so she let it slide. "Yeah."

"So basically," Sun summarized. "You fell for this girl, but you don't know if she's a fellow Gay™. Now you're texting eachother – is she the one who you've been texting for the past five minutes?"

"I thought I was being subtle!"

Neptune shook his head. "You were anything but, grinning like a madwoman at your phone and blushing red as a tomato." She scowled. "It's true."

"Anyway, you offered to tutor her? In what, exactly?" Sun continued

"English."

"oh, well that's your major. I'm sure it'll be fine. Just don't make commitments for time you don't have." 

Neptune checked his watch. "Shoot. I'm gonna go get the pizza from downstairs." Delivery people weren't allowed in the dorms, so if you wanted food, you had to go all the way downstairs and come back up again. "I'll be back in about five minutes."

 _Like I'd go off and find something else when Yang is right there._ Blake almost laughed. Then her phone vibrated. She whipped it out of her pocket. 

<<1 new notification>>

She opened it.

 **< 3 yang <3: **ruby and i are hosting a party tomorrow for New Year's eve. wanna come?

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, even as another text popped up.

 **< 3 yang <3: **the tournament's two days later, so i've got time to recover lol

She looked back up at Sun, who shifted impatiently. "What is it?"

"SHE INVITED ME TO A PARTY!" Then the realization hit her. "She invited me to a party. Oh my gods. What am I going to wear? What if she tries to kiss me?"

Sun raised his hands. "Back up about three paragraphs, cowgirl. I don't think I've ever seen you this... animated before."

She blinked. 

"Are you going to go?" he asked. 

"Should I?" 

_It was a bad ideaa...._ she started humming along to the song.

He shrugged. "I dunno. Do you want to go? You usually hate parties. And everyone there. And that's when you already know people. Remember the dances back home? I had to drag you kicking and screaming."

"I don't really know anyone besides her," she admitted. "But she'll be there."

"Maybe," Sun suggested, "you could ask her who else will be there. Or what's happening. Or if you can bring us."

"Ask if there's cute girls for me!" Neptune called from the doorway, where he was struggling to balance three pizza boxes and hold the door open so he could get through. 

She and Sun groaned at the same time. 

**blake belladonna:** i only kno u tho

 **< 3 yang <3: **u can bring some people with u if u want lol

 **< 3 yang <3: **dw abt it 

**< 3 yang <3: **ill give u the grand tour

"She says I can bring you guys with me," Blake said. 

Sun beamed. "Excellent. I can be your wingman."

She smiled back. "I'll let her know."

 **blake belladonna:** oh ok

 **blake belladonna:** i've got two friends i wanna bring if thats ok

 **< 3 yang <3: **sounds good

 **< 3 yang <3: **see you tomorrow x

_She sent me an x. What does that mean? Is it meant to be flirty or friendly? Some of my friends send it to me all the time. But x usually means kiss._ _AHHHH._ _I have absolutely no idea what's going on_ , she thought as Neptune walked back in with their pizzas. 

Sun was a veggitarian, so he'd ordered a veggie pizza. The plan was for Blake and Neptune to split a pizza, but Blake had said that the anchovies were non-negotiable. And Neptune's hatred of seafood was greater than his hatred of water, somehow.

He set them down on the counter, pointing to each one in turn. "Normal pizza, veggie pizza, and pizza for heretical bastards who think that fish goes on pizza."

"Fish goes on anything!" Blake protested.

"Ice cream?" Sun suggested.

"I take that back. It goes on most things," she said, getting paper plates out of a drawer. Beacon's dorms were really nice. Each group of four dorms connected to a common area with a fridge, sink, microwave, and stove. The fact that the dining hall was a five minute walk away, combined with the lack of a dishwasher, meant that most students chose to just eat there instead. But sometimes it was fun to just sit on the couch with your friends, order pizza, and watch a movie. 

Plus the mysterious fridge burglar kept eating food out of the fridge, even if it was labeled. Blake learned this the hard way after bringing some particularly good chicken parmesan back from the dining hall, only to find it gone the next day. Even the tupperware had disappeared. She had her suspicions on who it was, but never got around to acting on it. 

Taking a plate, she piled pizza on it before flopping on the couch. Until she started eating, she didn't realize exactly how hungry she was. The day had been exhausting. Up at seven to eat breakfast and get an early spot in the life lines. Then skiing all day, that encounter with the ski mafia, and Yang. Her watch said it was only six thirty. She felt tired, but managed to keep her eyes open by focusing on the fact that Yang might message her again. How embarrassing would it be to accidentally ghost someone because you were tired? She shuddered. _Not going to happen._

"So," Neptune said. "I hear there's a party."

Blake nodded. "Yang's hosting it and she said I could bring you guys with me."

"I'm her wingman," Sun added.

"You don't exactly have a history of being fun at parties," Neptune said.

She shrugged. "Maybe I'll change."

He sighed. "In all seriousness, don't change yourself for someone you've only known for what, six hours?"

"I'm not!"

"Whatever you say. This is tomorrow night, right?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, for New Year's Eve."

"Did she give you a time or address?" Sun asked. "I feel like those are important if you want to actually show up."

She picked up her phone and shot off a quick text.

 **blake belladonna:** hey sorry i forgot to ask

 **blake belladonna:** but when and where?

 **< 3 yang <3: **8:00 pm at my house

 **< 3 yang <3: **1173 Alpine Way

 **blake belladonna:** thx

 **< 3 yang <3: **lol np

Looking back up, she said "I have them now. Eight o'clock at her house."

"What I was going to say," Neptune interjected, "is that you need a major makeover beforehand. To get the girl, you need to be stunning. Not that you already aren't," he added in a rush. "But you've gotta make yourself stand out in a good way. And you need to learn how to flirt instead of staring blankly with your mouth open like a fish. Or Professor Port."

"Hey, he's actually really nice," Blake said. "When he's not going on seventeen hour tangents about hunting expeditions, that is."

Sun raised his hands. "Dinner first, then we worry about getting Blake ready for her date. Is it a date? Pseudo-date. Something."

_Something indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))


	10. bmblb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry this has taken so long to update. There's been some stuff going on in my personal life that I'll be dealing with through the end of February (at least), but I promise I'll keep writing as much as I can.

Blake woke up to the sun streaming through her window. She checked her watch. NOON?! It was noon already? How? Though she'd gone to bed realllllly late after staying up to three am watching shitty romcoms with Sun. Inspiration for talking to Yang tomorrow, he said. She regretted it now. Only eight hours until Yang's party started. And seven until she had to leave. She had no time to get ready. And too much time to angst.

She rolled out of bed and opened the door to the common area. Sun was sitting at the counter, tapping on his phone. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked. 

He shrugged. "Figured I should let you have your beauty sleep before you try to seduce miss thing."

"But I need to get ready!"

"Will that really take seven hours?" he asked incredulously. "What can you possibly do that'll take that long?"

"Well," she said, holding up a hand and ticking off items, "shower, makeup, hair, outfit selection."

Sun looked confused. "You've literally never been this excited about your appearance before."

"I've also never been invited to a really fancy party by a really cute girl before."

He sighed. "So I can expect another seven hours of angsting before we leave?"

"Anything else would be a disappointment," she replied, opening the fridge. "What'd you have for breakfast?"

"It's lunchtime. Eat lunch."

"No. Breakfast food is superior, and I stand by that."

"Knock yourself out," he said as she pulled open the freezer drawer to find half a package of frozen waffles. She popped them in the toaster. 

"Tea?" 

"It's noon. All the coffee is cold. Plus nobody except you drinks tea."

Blake pulled a kettle out of a cabinet and filled it with water, then set it on the stove. 

"Why don't you just microwave it?" Sun asked innocently. "Seems faster."

Blake almost had a stroke. "Microwave? My tea? What kind of heresy is that?"

He raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just saying."

"It's okay. You can be wrong." The toaster dinged and her waffles popped up. She set them on a plate, then went hunting for condiments. "Do you know if we have whipped cream?" she asked.

"You live here. I feel like you should know that."

"There's like 10 other people who use this kitchen. I have no idea what's in the fridge. It's a free-for-all. Plus, you already had breakfast, so maybe you checked the fridge."

He narrowed his eyes. "Huh. Well, I don't remember seeing any, but that doesn't mean there isn't any."

She hummed as she pulled the door open, searching for the whipped cream. 

The toaster dinged, and she jumped onto the counter, startled. Somehow, she managed to avoid knocking the plates off of the counter.

"You okay?" Sun asked, concerned.

Blake turned around and glared at the toaster. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just spooked me, is all."

"The toaster spooked you?"

She didn't respond. Instead, her eyes wandered over to the open fridge. Haloed by fluorescent lights and surrounded by week-old leftovers sat a can of whipped cream, resplendent in its glory. Immediately, she pounced, snatching the can out of the fridge and slamming the door shut before Sun had a chance to so much as blink. 

Careful so as to not burn her hands, she pried the waffles out of the toaster and set them on a plate. She made mental note to have some passive-aggressive words with whoever kept taking plates to their room and not bringing them back.

She flicked the cap off of the whipped cream and squirted a sizable amount onto her waffles. _Yum._

"Gods," Sun exclaimed. "Are you going to eat all of that?"

Blake shrugged. "Yeah, probably. I need my energy for preparations."

He shook his head. "Okay, I guess."

She sat down at the counter and checked her phone. No new notifications. Though should she have been expecting Yang to text her? It wasn't like they were dating anything. Gods, they'd barely known each other for a full day and she was concerned when she didn't get texted for a few hours. She needed to chill. 

But also, she was going to be at Yang's house in another seven. So perhaps no chill was the way to go, she thought as she shoveled waffles into her mouth. "Sun," she asked through a mouth full of whipped cream, "do you know what you're going to wear yet?"

"Huh?" 

She finished chewing and tried again. "Do you know what you're going to wear yet?"

"Something casual, probably. Did she say anything about a dress code?"

"No."

He shrugged. "Well, it's just at her house, so wear a nice outfit, I guess. What would you normally wear to a party?"

"Sun. I've never been to a party. Like, ever."

He gasped.

"No, really. I don't know anyone here, and you know how much of a nerd I was back in Menagerie."

"Well, no wonder you're so nervous. You have no idea what to expect."

She nodded. "Also, Yang will be there."

"Yang will be there," he agreed. "Do you have a plan for what you're going to say to her?"

"Plan?"

"Yeah, like for your dramatic confession of love or whatever."

"Hey, who said anything about dramatic confessions of love?"

"You're the one taking seven hours to get ready." He had a point. But she didn't dignify it with a response, just took another bite of waffle. "How many dresses did you bring here anyway?"

She held up two fingers.

"Oh, only two! How hard can it be?"

Very hard, as it turned out. 

The gold dress set off her eyes nicely, but it was a thinner fabric and didn't have pockets. The black dress was warmer and it had pockets, but combined with the rest of Blake's dark aesthetic, it was downright dreary. So she bit the bullet and went for the gold one. It was more festive anyway. 

Then there was showering (five minutes of actual washing, forty-five minutes of running through unlikely hypothetical scenarios), makeup (she eventually settled for some eyeshadow and nude lipstick after three youtube tutorials), and accessories.

_"What accessories do you even need?"_ Sun had asked.

_"I don't know,"_ she'd replied. _"That's the problem!"_

Jewelry? Scarf? Handbag? And it all had to match? _How did people do this regularly?_ she wondered as Sun shook his head at her latest attempt at coordinating her jewelry with her outfit. 

After another four hours of primping, preening, and panicking, she was ready to go. She was putting on her shoes when she heard Sun walking back into the room. When she looked up, she saw he wearing jeans with a button down shirt and a blazer. "I spent _hours_ getting ready, and that's what you're wearing?"

He shrugged. "It's never failed me before."

If Neptune hadn't strode into the room wearing a black suit trimmed in orange, she would have had a perfect retort ready. Probably. 

"You look nice," she said at the same time as Sun.

"JINX!" Sun shouted.

Neptune sighed. "Not this again. Are you guys ready to go?"

She finished putting on her second shoe and nodded. "Yup."

* * *

Yang's house was relatively large by mountain standards. Fairy lights trimmed the roof and were strung between the pine trees around the building. Somebody had set up heaters outside on the deck, the snow melting in circles around them. Smoke rose up from a bonfire behind the house. She could hear dance music playing loudly. A few cars were already in the driveway. She parked the car at the curb and put the keys in her pockets. "It's go time," she said, unlocking the door.

The second her boots hit the ground, she started sliding. Neptune grabbed her at the last second. Sun snorted. "I told you you shouldn't have worn those shoes," he said, slamming the door shut. "I've never worn heels and I've never lived somewhere it snows, and even _I_ knew that was a bad idea."

"I won't be walking on ice the whole time," she pointed out, starting to slide again. 

"Alright," Neptune said, holding one arm. "Let's go. No more ice." Carefully, he led her across the sidewalk to the front walk, which, blessedly, had been salted. Sun clicked the keys to lock the car, then followed them. 

She rapped her knuckles on the front door. A short girl in a red knee-length dress opened it. She tilted her head at Blake. "Hello! I'm Ruby. Who are you?"

_This must be her sister._

"Oh, uh, I'm Blake," she said. "And this is Sun and Neptune." 

Ruby's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh yeah! Blake! Yang was talking about you at dinner last night."

_Oh._ "Really?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her tone neutral. "That's cool." She wanted to know exactly what Yang had said, what she'd sounded like while saying it, if her eyes had gotten that dreamy far-off look,

Ruby nodded and gestured for them to come inside. "Come on in," she said. "Food is in the kitchen, which is that way." She led them into the kitchen, shutting the door. Blake's anxiety spiked. There were so many people in here, and she knew three of them. Four, if she counted Ruby.

Out of the corner of one eye, she spotted Yang's blonde hair. She turned to see Yang, wearing a deep violet suit and leaning up against the wall, holding a soda can in one hand. She was chatting with a white-haired girl. Blake felt her heart stutter in her chest. _Oh my god. She's here. And she looks drop-dead gorgeous._

As soon as she spotted a lull in the conversation, she moved in before her nerves could fail her. "Hi," she said, absolutely terrified. Her palms were sweating. She surreptitiously wiped them off on her dress. 

Yang looked over to see her. She beamed. "Oh hey, Blake!" Blake walked over to stand next to her as she continued talking. "Blake, this is Weiss," Yang said, pointing to the girl in the white dress. 

Weiss curtsied. "Good evening." She held out a hand for Blake to shake. "Weiss Schnee. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Blake shook her hand. _Oh. THE Weiss Schnee. I wonder why she's here. Is she a family friend or something?_

"I'm Blake Belladonna," she said helpfully. 

Weiss tilted her head. "I don't think I've ever heard your name before. Are you new here?"

She blushed. "Oh, no I've been enrolled at Beacon since last fall. But I'm not really a part of the skiing scene. I just started this winter, so I'm not very good yet."

"Ah, I see. How'd you meet Yang?"

Thankfully, Yang covered for Blake before she could embarrass herself further. "We met yesterday after the first round of qualifiers," she said, slinging one arm over her shoulder. Blake thought she might spontaneously combust from the heat that poured from her cheeks. "Congrats on your time, by the way. That was very impressive. Not as impressive as my little sis though."

Weiss rolled her eyes and smiled. "Ruby really is something else. So what do you think of Vale, Blake?"

"It's cold," Blake admitted. "I'm from Menagerie. I'd never even seen ice outside before I came here. Much less three feet of snow in one day. My first day at Beacon, I forgot to bring a jacket with me and almost died."

"Wait really?" Weiss asked. "You'd never seen snow before?"

"No. Is that odd?" Weiss and Yang nodded in tandem. "Menagerie's pretty tropical," she reminded them. "It stays above 70º most of the time. I don't think I've ever heard of it going below 50º before."

Weiss shook her head. "Crazy. I've never been there before."

"You should come sometime. It's beautiful."

Weiss raised a doubtful eyebrow and was about to respond, but Yang broke back into their conversation. "Have you gotten some food yet?" she asked Blake.

"No, I just got here."

She facepalmed. "God, I'm stupid. Sorry. Food time," Yang said, leading them back into the kitchen. Blake resisted the urge to say that Yang could never be stupid, she was amazing and beautiful and so many other things.

A wide array of appetizers and desserts greeted them. Chocolate dipped fruit. Chips and queso. Tiny finger sandwiches. Cookies iced with snowflake patterns. Cupcakes piled with frosting. Little tarts piped in the shape of roses. Blake suddenly realized she was absolutely starved. "Who made all this?" she asked.

Weiss smiled. "Ruby and I did," she said proudly. "Her mom runs er- ran a bakery. I interned there back in high school. That's how we met, actually." She looked around for a second. "RUBY!" she called, raising her voice over the background chatter.

Too fast for Blake to follow, Ruby dashed through the crowd and popped up next to Weiss. "What's up?" she asked. "I heard you call for me?"

Weiss nodded putting one arm protectively over Ruby's shoulder. "Have you met Blake yet?"

"Yep! I let her in, actually." Blake could have sworn Ruby was bouncing up and down with excitement. 

"Well," Yang said, "I'm glad you got to meet my sister."

"And I'm glad I finally got to meet the girl that Yang wouldn't shut up about last night even though we were watching a movie. I had to turn on closed captions! It was so annoying because the soundtrack was supposed to be really good but I couldn't hear it over Yang jabbering on and on." 

Blake winced and looked over to see Yang rapidly turning the color of Ruby's dress. "Yep! That's enough," she said in a high pitched voice. "Why don't you and Weiss go check the door? I thought I heard the doorbell ring."

"Okay!" Ruby said, far too enthusiastic about something as mundane as checking the doorbell. She grabbed Weiss, almost pulling her over in the process, and ran off to go greet guests Blake was fairly sure didn't actually exist. 

Yang blushed. "I'm so so sorry. She can be a bit much at times. Do you want some food?" she asked, handing Blake a plate. "These are really good." She popped a chocolate-covered strawberry in her mouth. 

"They certainly look like it," Blake said absentmindedly, distracted by Yang licking her lips. 

"Eh," Yang said, shrugging. "Not as good as you." She handed Blake a paper plate. 

Blake's face heated. "I, uh... Thanks?" she responded, taking the plate and putting food on it. She had to admit, the strawberries _were_ really good, even if she was more of a dark chocolate person.

She smiled. "No problem."

Blake would trade all the strawberries in the world to be able to hold onto that smile. 

* * *

Blake had assured Yang she was completely fine to just sit on the couch and watch everyone else party, but the other girl wasn't having it. "Come _ON_ , Blake!" Yang said, tugging on Blake's arm. "Dance with me?"

"Fine." It wasn't that she disliked dancing, it was that she was terrified of tripping over her feet in the process. In front of Yang. Who was sending really unclear signals in Blake's direction. She allowed Yang to pull her to her feet, accepting her fate. "I, uh, don't know how to dance," she admitted.

Yang snorted. "Bullshit. Anyone can dance. Just copy my moves."

Blake watched doubtfully as Yang moved herself through a series of increasingly contorted positions, somehow in time with the pulsing beat of the music. "Right." She did her best to mimic whatever Yang was doing, feeling incredibly out of her element.

She shook her head. "No, no," Yang said. "Like this." She did the same thing all over again, but slower. 

Blake narrowed her eyes as Yang sped the motions back up again. She tried it herself. First slowly, and then speeding up.

Yang grinned. "See! I told you it was easy."

Blake just shook her head and smiled. Yang had that effect on her, she supposed. 

She didn't know how long they danced for. Time wasn't measured in minutes and seconds but in songs and beats. Some time later, Yang checked her watch. "The fireworks are about to start," she said, eyes bright. "My dad does them. You've never seen anything like them." Blake raised an eyebrow. "Really!" she continued. "He builds all of the setups himself and does the wiring and everything. It's super cool. Wanna go outside to get a better view?"

"Sure," Blake said.

Yang grabbed her hand and pulled her through the sliding glass doors. Nobody else was on the deck. She wondered where they'd gone. Only one of the heat lamps was still lit. Somehow, the moon had broken through the clouds. Pale white light streamed through the gaps in the trees to illuminate the patio. The snow on the mountains seemed to be glowing. It was surreal, Blake thought. The only sign that people had been here were a few discarded soda cans and the noise from inside. 

"So," Yang started, "how was your year? It's definitely been a long one."

What was she supposed to say? Should she say something flirty? Something noncommittal? "Pretty good, I guess. Got into Beacon, which was my dream school. Learned to ski. Moved out of Menagerie. What about you?"

She smiled. "I got to meet you," she said. The words were simple and carried so much weight at the same time.

Everything stopped. The noise quieted. Her entire world narrowed to a single point. Her heartbeat was thunder in her ears. Her eyes widened. Whatever she said (or did) next would cement her fate.

"I don't really know what to say," she said, blushing. "But they say actions speak louder than words." 

So heart in her throat, Blake did something she never thought she'd do in a million years. 

She took Yang's hands in her own and kissed her.

For a split second, she was terrified. What if she'd messed up? What if she did something wrong? What if she'd been reading the signals incorrectly and Yang was actually completely straight and not at all interested.

Then Yang wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her in tighter. Heat like the sun spread from all the places she was being touched. The cold air didn't matter anymore. In the distance, she could hear the faint thunder of fireworks. She wrapped her arms behind Yang's neck, trying to pull herself as close as possible, press herself up against her, get as much contact as she could. 

Maybe there were other people coming out onto the deck. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was here, now, kissing the girl she liked and how were her lips so damn soft?

A fraction of an eternity later, they broke apart. Blake gasped for air. Had she even been breathing? She opened her eyes and looked up at Yang. Even though she was in heels, the other girl was just a little bit taller. She grinned down at Blake. "They most certainly do."

Blake tilted her head, confused. Maybe the kissing had scrambled her brain. "Huh?"

"Speak louder than words."

"Ah," she said, idly running her hands through Yang's hair. "By all means, please keep speaking." 

_There's the smooth poet Blake!_

Somehow, they'd turned so her back was pressed up against the deck railing. She wasn't going anywhere, and she was perfectly happy to stay here forever, Yang's arms wrapped around her waist, one of her legs slotted between Blake's, her lips pressed against her own.

Yang did something with her tongue and Blake let out a little gasp. Where'd she learned to do that? It was so much better than _he_ 'd ever been. Her body shuddered as Yang's hands moved up her back. 

"You know," Yang breathed into her neck, "I've been wanting to do that since you got here. I couldn't think about anything else all day."

Blake's eyes widened. "I-"

She didn't get a chance to respond as Ruby flung the doors open. 

They burst apart.

"Cindershereandwantsyoutoshutdownthepartyandimnotreallysurewhatelse-" Ruby let out, all one word.

Yang raised a hand. The hand that had previously been making its way down Blake's back towards – nope, focus. "Alright, slow down."

Ruby inhaled and tried again. "Cinder's here and she wants you to shut down the party, or else."

"Or else?"

She shrugged. "She didn't specify."

Yang's face fell. "I'm sorry, Blake. I've gotta go deal with this."

Blake couldn't say anything, just watch helplessly as Yang dashed back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> violets are red,  
> roses are blue  
> yang in a suit  
> makes blake's heart go noot noot


End file.
